Winding up the leftover foods seems to be such a difficult task. Sometimes while winding up the leftovers in the fridge I wonder – what creativity can I show on these? I know I can make a quick and easy recipe at the time of need with practically any type of food that is leftover, but I had never thought that I could be this creative! This creative technique helps me to avoid ordering takeout and throwing out perfectly good healthy food. More cash in my wallet and more progress when it comes to eating well- a win-win situation! Isn’t it?
So here are the 4 types of quick meals that I frequently prepare using whatever leftovers I find myself with:
1. Make your favorite salad. Healthy, isn’t it?
If you get into the habit of keeping some staples in your kitchen that don’t go bad quickly like canned beans, nuts, dried fruit, frozen veggies, and dressings then you can add some fresh veggies, salt, and pepper and create a healthy salad for yourself in minutes. The best part is that you can innovate it the way you want.
2. Go for Delicious Tacos or Burritos, maybe?
If you have some wraps or taco shells at home, you can make quick tacos with any combination of leftover rajma, beans, and vegetables. Add a lot of cheese in it so that it tastes no less than the original one! I prefer adding in some frozen corn, canned black beans, hot sauce, and seasonings to make it my way. Apart from being delicious, these are protein packed, rich in nutrients, and cost hardly anything to make!
3. Time For Pasta, are you ready?
Mostly homemakers have at least a packet of whole grain pasta and a jar of tomato sauce in their cabinets always. So, you can use this sauce or any other sauce, maybe and combine with any leftover curry or veggies and add pasta into it. Your meal is ready! Garlic, ginger, onions, and herbs like parsley, oregano, and basil all last a long time in your kitchen and really make the dish taste out of the world. You would really get an amazing dish in less than 15 minutes.
4. A Stir Fry, easy way!
It’s not at all tough. As far as your leftovers are cooked pretty basically, you can add them into a saucepan with ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sesame dressing, or tomato sauce and you’ve your well-cooked meal! Bonus if you have some flavored dressings like chili sauce, sriracha, or oregano.
Instead of throwing out your leftovers and relying on takeout or another restaurant for your upcoming meal, repurpose that food and use it to your benefit. It would also gear up your creative skills!